Grant Thornton acts for Turi Foods on merger with global food supplier

Grant Thornton has acted for Turi Foods, a leading Australian processor of chicken, on a merger that will see the business expand its offering and operations.

The deal involves a 50/50 merger with the U.S. owned OSI Group, one of the world’s leading suppliers of custom value-added food products across Australia and the globe, including supplying beef to McDonalds.

Bringing together Turi Food’s expertise in Australian poultry farming and processing and OSI Group’s scale and reach, the merger – now known as TUROSI – will be able to provide its customers with a full value-added processing capability, including more products to meet a wider range of customer expectations, including value-added and further process chicken and beef products.

The Grant Thornton team, led by the firm’s National Head of Food & Beverage Tony Pititto, advised Turi Foods, a long-time client of the firm, on all stages of the transaction, including due diligence, deal and complex tax structures, completion accounting and post-deal integration.

‘Importantly, we were brought in early pre-deal, a crucial point for any successful transaction, as setting a clear strategy at the outset and plan to maximise the value both parties bring sets the transaction up for the greatest possible outcome.

‘Working with Turi Foods for many years now has meant we know their business and operations – and also their strategic ambitions – so we were able to bring in the right team, from tax and accounting to M&A and performance improvement to complete this deal.’

Since signing, both Turi Foods and OSI Group are now about to embark on the integration of the merger.

‘The first 100 days of any merger are key, so we look forward to continuing to work alongside the team at TUROSI as they execute the remaining aspects of the transaction.

‘It was great to be part of this merger as it brings together two organisations that are expert in their own fields to not only elevate their offerings but also serve more customers Australia-wide, and possible export markets’ added Tony.

This deal further supports the findings from Grant Thornton’s recent thought leadership report, Dealtracker, which looks at M&A activity in the global and Australian food & beverage sector. This Australian sector continues to be at the forefront of M&A activity due to the attractiveness of our food and beverage sector to the rest of the world.

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For more information, please contact:

Karen Kalkaus

BBS Communications Group
P   07 3221 6711
E  kkalkaus@bbscommunications.com.au